Learning to Thaw
by wonderstrucklovestory
Summary: After Anna and Elsa are reunited, so many things are left to be resolved. Kristoff isn't quite ready to commit to Anna, but after he hears a plan between a rival kingdom's military leaders he must get to the sisters and warn them of the danger. Focusing mainly on the struggles of rekindling a sisterly relationship, and beginning Kristoff and Anna's.
1. Chapter 1

I do not own anything associated with Disney, or any of it's movies!  
I hope you enjoy the first chapter of my story, I'm working on chapter two now!  
Enjoy!

"Freezing something is easy, its taking the time to let it thaw that's hard."

"Elsa, watch out!"  
Elsa's platinum blonde hair flew over her shoulder, as she turned towards her sister's warning call, just in time to see her slight frame speeding toward her on the newly iced over stone.  
Elsa quickly lifted a hand, slowing her sister enough to grab hold of her arm and steady her.  
Anna huffed heavily and smoothed out the sides of her dress.  
"Thanks. I almost had it this time, just got bumped too hard in the crowd… Just a little longer and I'll have the hang of this skating thing for sure!"  
Elsa couldn't help but chuckle as she watched her younger sister fidget anxiously, her tongue sticking slightly out, and determination written across her face.  
"Here, try standing up straighter, it'll help with what little balance you have."  
She winked on the last word as Anna rolled her eyes dramatically.  
"I have balance! I climbed halfway up the north mountain I'll have you know."  
Elsa shook her head and lifted her hand once more, sending her sister gliding shakily across the courtyard once more.  
She watched fondly as Anna struggled to skate in one direction, only to bump into another skater and apologize as quickly as she could while she spun in the direction she had ricochet off to.  
She took a minute to actually look at her sister, and realize just how much she had grown up without her notice.  
Anna was a young woman now, with beautiful light orange hair, and a smile that could light up any kingdom.  
A sudden pang of guilt rushed through Elsa as a scene entered her mind, one she very well wished she could forget.  
A scene where repeatedly Anna appeared outside the cold and frosty confinement of her room begging for her attention, for her company.  
Each time Anna had appeared, Elsa ignored her, or scolded her, sending her away sniffling and mumbling to herself sadly.  
She closed her eyes and took a deep breath.  
Anna knew now, everyone knew now, about the gift that she had considered a curse for far too long.  
This meant that to protect her sister, she no longer had to continuously push her away.  
A rush of warmth spread through her body now as the realization set in.  
She could protect her sister, and be with her every step of any journey she should have to take.  
Anna slid further into the crowd of villagers, slipping from Elsa's view.  
Elsa frowned slightly, not wanting to let Anna out of her sight, and set a foot forward, preparing to navigate her way through the many happy skaters.  
She hadn't gotten very far, when a loud and elated Olaf stumbled out in front of her.  
"Oh Elsa! I've just never seen anything so beautiful!"  
Elsa smiled and knelt down to straighten the snowman's nose, as he rambled on about the heat, and the many joys of summer in Arendelle.  
"There's just so many colors! Purple, blue… Yellow! Oh there's so much yellow!" The snowman's arms waved excitedly, his smile widening as he described the many flowers that Elsa had seen lining the castle's windows every summer, until the year that her mother and father had been lost at sea.  
Lost in her own thoughts, Elsa hadn't noticed the snowman wander off, distracted by a pair of blue birds flitting across the crowded courtyard.  
Shaking her head slightly, the young queen continued into the crowd, and was met by many different reactions.  
Many "Bless you your majesty."s and bows were what greeted her, but there was also a few lingering stares and forced, uncomfortable gestures of respect.  
She returned these greeting with an ironically warm smile, and a gentle, reassuring touch to a shoulder as she passed by.  
When Elsa finally caught up with Anna, the younger woman was fondly petting a large reindeer. Who was in turn being supported by Kristoff.  
Elsa paused and considered the tall, awkward man who was holding the reindeer up around it's middle.  
Kristoff was, undoubtedly, one of the only reasons Anna was able to find her in her palace in the North Mountain, and live long enough to return back to the village.  
A taunting voice flashed into Elsa's mind, "_**He was able to protect her better than you ever could. Your own sister**_."  
Letting out a sharp breath, Elsa focused on the sound of Elsa's laughter, and her smile.  
Anna was happy in this moment, and so Elsa should be too.  
Elsa moved forward again, greeting the group and assisting Anna once more.  
Within a short while, Anna was able to glide slowly in one direction without crashing into one of the villagers.  
The group was just passing the steps leading to the castle's entrance, when Olaf's cheery voice rang out behind them.  
"I never knew a sky could have so many beautiful colors!"  
His oval head was raised towards the slowly setting sun, and the orange and pink sky that surrounded it.  
As Anna and the rest of the group admired the sunset, Elsa looked around the courtyard, and noticed that many of the villagers had returned to their homes for the night.  
Anna lowered her eyes from the sky, and also noticed the sudden lack of company in the courtyard.  
"Have we been skating that long? I hadn't even noticed!"  
She glided slowly to the steps and sat down heavily, Olaf trailing close behind.  
"Whew! I don't know about you guys, but I really worked up an appetite out there."  
Elsa sat beside her sister, and opened her mouth to suggest heading inside for dinner, when a low rumble interrupted her.  
All eyes turned towards Sven, who's eyes widened, and turned towards his stomach.  
Kristoff let out a hearty laugh.  
"I Think I'd take that as an agreement!"  
Elsa smiled as an idea popped into her head.  
"Why don't you join us for dinner? I haven't gotten the chance to properly thank you for, well everything. There's plenty of room at the table, and more than enough food for everyone."  
Anna's face lit up at Elsa's words, but Kristoff's brows furrowed together, trouble flashing across his face.  
"No… Thank you, but we have to uh… Gather supplies to test the new sled! Yeah, gather supplies. We can pick up something in the market."  
Sven whined and nudged Kristoff's hand, urging him to reconsider.  
Elsa watched as Anna's smile faded from her face, and her sister let out a flurry of words to get the young man to stay.  
"We have someone who could gather supplies for you! Plus you really don't have to go out first thing and get ice, I mean we'll need it eventually, but not right now. There's plenty of room, it's no trouble, we do have 8,000 salad plates, and-"  
Elsa put a hand on her sister's shoulder, knowing she would continue to blurt out nonsense to get the pair to stay.  
"If you change your mind, the invitation will remain."  
Kristoff cleared his throat and cast his eyed downward.  
"Yeah I'll keep that in mind.."  
Then he turned towards Anna.  
"I'll see you around soon."  
Anna opened her mouth as if she wanted to say more, but closed it as Kristoff turned, and led a reluctant Sven out of the courtyard.  
Elsa looked to her siser, and immediately recognized the look on Anna's face.  
It was a look of hurt, of longing, and of abandonment.  
Wishing more than anything to rid her sister's beautiful face of such an expression, she wrapped an arm around Anna's shoulders, and began leading her into the castle.  
When they reached the doors, Anna stopped and turned towards Olaf, who was still sitting on the steps, happily gazing at the sky.  
"Coming with us Olaf?"  
Olaf lowered his gaze from the sky and smiled at her.  
"When the sky goes to sleep, I'll come inside."  
Elsa and Anna both smiled, and continued their journey into the vast castle together. 


	2. Chapter 2

Thank you to all who reviewed! I'm working on chapter three now Please review and keep reading!  
I do not own anything but my military men!  
Enjoy!

Kristoff sighed and kicked a pebble across the cobblestone, and ruffled the scruff on Sven's neck.  
"Why am I such a rock head sometimes Sven?"  
Sven gave a small grunt, and continued to munch on the carrot Kristoff had bought for him.  
He didn't turn down Elsa's offer to dine with the sisters because he was against it, I was more like, he just wasn't ready.  
Sven whined and stuck half of the carrot he had been given into Kristoff's hand.  
He chuckled and twirled it in-between his fingers.  
"Not this time buddy, I'm not really hungry tonight."  
Sven tilted his head and shrugged as he grasped the carrot again.  
Kristoff continued to kick his pebble ahead of him as he led Sven to the sled Anna had promised.  
Anna… He pictured her face when she had revealed the sled to him.  
The way her eyes lit up when his jaw had dropped, and the cute way she fidgeted when she got excited.  
That picture was suddenly replaced with a pain stricken vision of Anna's face, the white in her hair spreading, and the worry in his heart that her eyes so strongly reflected.  
He hopped into the sleek new sled, and Sven pranced excitedly up to the front.  
Kristoff chuckled and shook his head, tossing him another carrot.  
"Not yet bud, we'll go out tomorrow, I promise."  
Sven whinnied contently, the carrot in his mouth muffling the sound.  
Kristoff ran his hand over the smooth finished wood on the front of the sled, before leaning back and closing his eyes.  
Anna had her sister back now… She didn't need him anymore, she'd given him the sled she had promised, and she certainly hadn't promised him anything more.  
Reaching a hand up to his cheek, he touched where Anna had kissed him earlier.  
Surely that kiss, and the kiss that followed, meant she carried feelings for him, as he did for her.  
The doubts swirled heavily in his mind, cluttering and jumbling his thoughts.  
Through all of the doubts about Anna's feelings for him, he came to one very real conclusion.  
He loved her.  
He loved her, even if she didn't love him.  
Kristoff smiled as the three words repeated in his mind.  
He was ready now, ready to commit to Anna.  
Jumping off the sled, he turned towards Sven.  
"C'mon buddy, let's go take Elsa up on her invitation."  
Sven bounded up to him, and nipped softly at the bag tied to his belt that contained the rest of the carrots.  
As the pair slowly made their way through the market, Kristoff began to notice how quiet the village had fallen, and began to wonder just how late it was.  
As he hesitated to disturb Anna and Elsa this late, Sven suddenly ceased munching happily on his carrot.  
His ears perked and twisted frantically in an array of directions, signaling something questionable was close by.  
Kristoff stopped walking, and watched Sven' head tilt along with his ears, finally settling on a small park near the edge of the market.  
Taking hold of one of Sven's antlers, he gently guided him to the edge of the park, watching his ears twitch towards the center, which was dense with tall bushes, and trees.  
Kristoff motioned for Sven to remain at the edge of the park, and moved in closer to crouch behind a thick bush near a small clearing in the vegetation.  
Crouching further behind the bush, Kristoff listened closely to see if he could pick up on what Sven heard.  
After a few beats of silence, a low, gravelly voice spoke.  
"Are we all here?"  
A small chorus of confirmations softly responded.  
"Good. Now, I understand we have a small problem among us."  
Another chorus of confirmations rang out.  
Raising himself off the ground slightly, Kristoff was able to peer through the small gaps in the bush he was behind.  
A small semicircle of men sat in a clearing in front of his hiding spot.  
They were looking toward an older man.  
His coal black hair was streaked with light grey, that led into the light stubble that lined his jaw.  
The man was kneeling, his boots pressing into the moist dirt.  
The surrounding men appeared to be younger, and there were at least seven of them, that Kristoff could see from this angle.  
Each was clad in a pair of black boots, a red crown stitched into the right boot.  
The older man wore a red jacket, decorated with various medals that lined his breast pocket, and his shoulders.  
His tan trousers matched those of the younger men, but instead of jackets, the men wore red long-sleeved shirts, made of expensive material, that drew in around the waist, the way Kristoff hated to wear his shirts.  
On the belt of every man, a sword sat in it's covering, setting off an uneasy feeling in Kristoff's stomach.  
One of the younger men stepped forward, bowing to the older man before speaking.  
"Our kingdom is losing a war that we cannot win sir."  
The older man waved a hand, sending the younger man back to his position in the semi circle.  
"It is true that we are fighting a battle without hope of succeeding."  
He began to stand, forcing to sit, losing sight of the scene.  
"It is also true that there is no way for us to win. That is, without the use of… Magic."  
Murmurs arose, making the confused grunt that escaped Kristoff.  
Who were these men?  
Surely if there was a military concern, Elsa was aware of it.  
He raised a hand to scratch the back of his neck.  
Though, if Elsa had a problem, she would inform Anna.  
By informing Anna, Elsa would inevitably be informing himself, as Anna wasn't the best at keeping a secret.  
The man's boots crunched lightly on the ground as he began to pace.  
"Yes that's right men, we need magic."  
Kristoff quietly turned and peered through the gaps once more.  
The older man was standing with his back to the group, who were all still crouching, murmuring about magic.  
The man faced his comerades once more.  
"Do any of you know the story behind this kingdom?"  
None of the other men answered.  
"Years ago, the previous King and Queen of this land set out on a voyage for business to another kingdom. They were tragcalliy lost at sea, leaving behind two daughters, one three years older than the other. On the night of the older sister's coronation, she lost her temper over a matter with her sister, and accidentally exposed a very valuable and dangerous power. You see men, this remarkable young woman can control ice. She was able to freeze this entire kingdom in the peak of summer."  
The older man paused and let this sink in, as Kristoff shivered at the memory.  
"Of course, since then she has restored summer in the kingdom, with the help of her sister."  
One of the younger men stood.  
"That _**is**_ powerful magic, that we _**can**_ use sir, but how shall we convince her to help us?"  
His leader snickered to himself.  
"By threatning what she holds most dear to her of course."  
Kristoff's breath caught in his throat as he watched confusion set over the men.  
"To that this massive winter, the queen's sister sacrificed herself to save her. It took an act of true love to save her heart, and to restore summer."  
Soft cheers rang out as the men began to catch on to the older commander's plan, making Kristoff's heartbeat quicken.  
"In short men, to get the magic we need, we go after the Queen's sister."  
Kristoff swallowed hard.  
They were going after Anna, his Anna, the one he had worked so hard to protect these last few days.  
He scrambled to stand from his place behind the bush.  
He had to get to the castle, to warn Elsa, to keep Anna safe.  
Kristoff had just stood and stepped forward, when a gleaming blade slapped softly against his chest.  
He glanced upwards, and met the eyes of the older man, his fellow soldiers gathered around them, swords drawn.  
Two men held Sven by his antlers, a pleading expression in the faithful reindeer's eyes.  
Kristoff's stomach turned as the man's expresstion drew into a sneer.  
"Going somewhere, boy?" 


End file.
